DigitalNoob

Damn you, Miami Heat. By becoming champions, you may have effectively ruined basketball as we once knew it. While all credit is due, this year’s Heatles have proven something that very few people wanted to admit: The Big Three idea works.

I know, I know. The Boston Celtics did it first, when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce to lead the C’s to a title, years before LeBron and company did. There is a difference between the two, however. The Celtics had three very good stars on their team, but also had a well-rounded roster, including a younger (and less experienced) Rajon Rondo, as well as defensive specialists like Kendrick Perkins. Along with a bench including role players like Tony Allen and Glen Davis, the Celtics were a good all-around team, loaded with talent and with a deep bench.

The Heat, on the other hand, are the best example of an ongoing trend that is taking the NBA by force: star players demanding to be with other star players, creating a Big Three concept that has reached places like New York, L.A. (twice) and despite being together several years before the formation of the concept, San Antonio.

By winning “not two, not three, not four”, but only their first NBA championship, Miami has proven that pooling your talent at the expense of everywhere else on the roster is a gamble that can pay off. Sure, no other team will have the immense talents of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh at their disposal, but now that there’s proof the concept works, teams everywhere could be rushing to throw massive amounts of money at a few select stars to get them to play together and challenge the current champions.

Is this an overreaction to a very talented team playing at a high level and winning it all? Probably. But by doing so, Miami has proven that even a top-heavy team can rise to the highest peak of their sport. If this trend continues, it’s a dangerous slope that could be too steep to come back from. Goodbye parity, hello Big Three.